SLO
by f.f. lindy
Summary: A case in a college town in california and a lot of alcohol help M&S realize their feelings


Title: SLO  
  
Author: f.f.lindy  
  
Date: 8/14/02  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the x-files, or and colleges, or any restaurants  
  
Feedback: I print it out and put it in sheet protectors and respond to it and read it whenever I'm sad. vmf2004115@yahoo.com  
  
Archiving: I spent so long typing this is that I would absolutely love it if someone would post it somewhere else. (And if you tell me when you do I'll throw myself a little party and make a cake)  
  
Authors notes: My sister (Hilary) goes to college in San Luis Obispo and this came to me when she and my cousin went out to a frat party and came back sloshed and with hickeys. So, I guess this one goes out to the boys (all like ten of them that there were) that made out with my cousin and sister that night. Also, all the places I mention in this are real (bonus points to anyone who has been to any of them)  
  
Skinner had a new case for us, another unexplained for us to look into and eventually add to a file cabinet of others that would never end logically as I would like to see. So, patiently I waited to hear the news. It was in San Luis Obispo, California, a college town, home of the Cal Poly Mustangs.  
  
By six o'clock we were on a plane headed across the country to go undercover in order to find out just why girls were disappearing from a local club. We had been given our bios to read on the plan and both tried to conceal our excitement in getting to pretend we were different people. I was a credentialed college professor at a junior college, and Mulder was a high school principal from the same city. We were supposed to have been friends since we were in college ourselves, and when I decided to apply at Cal Poly he followed me out hoping to get a job in administration at the local high school in the fall. We had condos right next to each other; we shared a wall. Since we didn't have education jobs waiting for us we were both to apply for retail or food preparation jobs in the area, claiming it would be summer work until school started again. When we got off the plane in LA we had to get our luggage and drive for 5 hours, each in a separate car.  
  
Four days later we both had jobs to keep us covered and were pretty well moved into our condos with the 'typical household furnishings' the government had provided. Mulder had found a job at the Staples Office Supply down the hill from our condos and I got a job at an ice cream and coffee shop not far down the road called Froggies. The woman I worked with most of the time, Julie, was a lot of fun. She was a college student, not far from graduating, and seemed to treat me like a peer, not like an old lady as I had expected everyone to.  
  
One Tuesday afternoon Mulder and I got in an argument over something silly and he ended up going back to his condo all alone with the knowledge that he was not welcome with me anymore. The next morning my favorite co-worker at Froggies and I had to open the store together at 5 am and we were talking about our plans for the rest of the day. She said that she was going dancing at The Grad for what is known as college hump night. I had told her about my argument with Mulder and she insisted that I come with her because it would make me feel better. I didn't really want to go, but knowing that it was the club that the girls had disappeared from I figured it was a good excuse to go and study the place.  
  
When we got off work she wanted to go shopping since I had admitted to not owning any clubbing clothes. She came by my apartment at 10 with a few of her friends to pick me up. She had them give me a final inspection to make sure that I was 'skanked up' enough. They had more make up on me than I usually wear in a week and far less clothing than I would have chosen to wear.  
  
I spent a few hours in the club, not dancing, before they took me to the bar for a drink. I felt so out of place and didn't know just how to fit in with the young people and the, in my opinion, vulgar dancing that was going on, but they kept telling me that a few drinks and a little courage would have me out on the floor. After 2 shots of tequila were practically forced down my throat I was feeling a little braver. "You've gotta take it with a little salt and a slice of lime," the bar tender told me when he saw the face I made as I drank the potent shots. "This guy's got the idea." He gestured to a man on a stool not far from mine. I turned to see Mulder downing a shot himself.  
  
When Julie saw that I found someone I knew she and her friends went back out of the bar to dance. Mulder explained that her wanted to get in a little research on the place and heard that Wednesday was a good night to go; I told him that a girl from work had taken me. "So, watch and learn," he said, then took my hand, liked it, salted it and took his shot. I assumed by his actions that he'd put away a lot more than I had already that evening. Running off my swallowed courage I took a shot off his hand. "You know, some people take them like this," he said, licking my neck. I almost fell of the stool. Even after 2 more shots than I had taken in years that was still a shock, and just confirmed how drunk Mulder was. "You try," he suggested. So, I gathered all the guts I had left and took a shot off his neck. It tasted so good; it's not hard to see why I would want more.  
  
Not too much later he was licking the skin just above the fabric of my dangerously low cut shirt. By this time I had enough tequila in me to giggle at his tongue on my cleavage and suggest that we go home. He agreed and we staggered back out to the dance floor to tell my escorts that I was going home after introducing them to Mulder. They agreed, realizing that I was drunk and going home with a friend. We took a cab back to our side-by- side condos. I invited him to come in and he said he would be there in just a second. When he showed up in my condo he had a bottle of tequila, a saltshaker, and a bottle of lemon juice. "Why leave the party at the bar?" he asked, and somehow I agreed.  
  
One shot at a time we ended up no my bed naked, and by that time we abandoned the alcohol to concentrate more on each other.  
  
The next morning I woke lying next to him, embarrassed and really hung over. I carefully untangled myself from Mulder's bare embrace and got up around nine. I took a few pills to dull the pain of my wind night and left for work.  
  
Luckily it was a slow Thursday morning so I could lag a little. My friend Julie had opened that morning so and she was working when I go there. "Dana how was your night last night? Or do you remember? You were really drunk when you left.  
  
"You don't know the half of it." I sighed. "I never drink more than a glass of wine, two at the most. I was taking body shots off my best friend!"  
  
She laughed then shook her head. "That's Mulder!? He's kinda cute, and from where I was sitting you two were looking pretty friendly. What happened when you got home?"  
  
"He had more tequila at his house, and we were both so drunk already..."  
  
"What happened!?"  
  
"We had sex. When I left this morning he was still asleep in my bed. I know Fox; he's going to be upset. I don't know what I'm going to do. We've known each other for years and we have never, ever...I'm going to lose my best friend!" I started to cry.  
  
She ran to me and gave me a hug then dished me up some chocolate ice cream. "You'd be amazed at the heartache chocolate can cure," she comforted.  
  
Eventually I calmed down and got back to work. I was serving ice cream to a little girl while Julie made her mom a mocha at then thirty when Mulder walked in. Julie rang them up while I attempted to hide behind the coffee dispensers. He walked up to the big containers of coffee and waited a moment before producing a bouquet of red roses from behind his back. The mother smiled at me and took he daughter's hand to leave. I beamed, not knowing what to say. Julie retreated to the back room to give us privacy. "Can I take you to dinner tonight?" he asked. "I can get us reservations at the Madonna Inn; we really should see it, it's famous."  
  
"That'd be nice." I said as I took the roses and smelled them.  
  
"I have to go to work, but I'll see you later."  
  
"Do you want coffee, or ice cream, or- I can make waffles?" I offered, breaking my silent glee when her mentioned leaving.  
  
"What do you suggest?" he asked.  
  
"I'll make you a mocha that you'll love." I said.  
  
"That sounds great." So, I made him his mocha and he told me that we would try to get us reservations around six thirty that evening.  
  
"Have a nice afternoon at work, Fox." I said as he got ready to leave.  
  
"Thanks Dana," he responded, "I'll see you at home." It sounded almost like we lived together, I sighed at the thought as soon as he exited. I felt content for a while with the image in my mind of a home that he and I shared. A second after I heard the bells jingled that marked Mulder's leaving, Julie came out from the area in the back.  
  
"Roses? If this is him upset he must be prince charming the rest of the time," she said filling up the makeshift vase she'd found in the back with water.  
  
I smiled and turned to her. "What is he doing? What does this mean?"  
  
He brought you roses, red roses, and asked you out. What do you think?"  
  
"No, that wasn't asking me out. That was...we eat dinner together all the time."  
  
"How many times has he asked you out to a fancy restaurant after bringing you roses?" she asked.  
  
I sighed. "Do you really think so/ Do you think he wants to be more than friends?" I asked hopefully.  
  
"Hey, you know him better than I do, all I'm saying is that to me it looks like he wants to do you as bad as you seem to want to jump him." We both laughed.  
  
It was a long afternoon, and Julie got off at noon. I worked alone until two when Amber, another college student, came in for the afternoon. She asked where the flowers had come from. "My friend Fox brought them in for me," I said like a little girl.  
  
"I wish I had a 'friend' that brought me roses," she said with a smile. I blushed.  
  
At three I got off work and went back to my condo with my roses wrapped in newspaper. I put them in a vase on my coffee table. Looking around the apartment I could tell that Mulder had straightened up before he left. There was no evidence of the previous night: no tequila, no salt, no lemon juice, the bed was made with fresh sheets. I smiled at his consideration.  
  
Moving to my closet I began to search for a dress that I could wear to dinner. I hadn't packed expecting I would be going out to many fancy restaurants. I ended up at Ross, the closest thing to a department store that could be found in San Luis. About 15 dresses later I found one that I liked on me. I hurried home to be sure that I would be back before Mulder got home from work. I did manage to beat him back, and was home by four thirty. It was a little after five when he got to his condo next door. He came by to let me know that he'd made reservations for six fifteen. I thanked him again for the roses and he said he'd come get me when it was time to go.  
  
I got in the shower not long after we finished our conversation and at ten 'til six was putting on my jewelry. I checked my hair for the millionth time around the time I heard Mulder knock at the door. I went to the door to find him in a great suit, one of his best, and a classy tie, something he seldom managed to find on his own. My knee length lavender dress that clung top me just where it should, caught him just as off guard as he had caught me. He took me on his arm and led me out to his car. "So, have you ever heard of the Madonna Inn?" he asked, making conversation.  
  
"No, but I saw the sign as we came into town. I guess it's the claim to fame of this area."  
  
"I came on vacation to the west coast once and we drove through San Luis. Someone said we should stop so we sent in to use the bathroom. It was quite a bathroom, that's for sure."  
  
I smiled, now looking forward to our evening even more. We arrived a little early because neither of us knew just how close to our condos it was. The hostess, Hilary, told us that it would be just a couple minutes when we walked into the steak house. She was very nice and talked to us while we waited. She told us a little bit about the history of the Inn and Mr. Madonna, who still managed the place. Just as Mulder had suggested, it was quite a place. The pink booths and chairs were easier to sit in than to look at. In the center of the dining room was a giant tree with optical flowers hanging off of it. There were glass grapes, golden cherubs, and a creepy doll that hung near the entrance on a swing that swung throughout our meal. When our table was ready she showed us to it and told just to have a nice evening.  
  
That we did. Not a word was spoken between the two of us about our actions the night before. We just ate dinner and had a friendly conversation, just as we would over any other meal. The food was delicious, the best meal we'd eaten since arriving. After we finished Mulder ordered a dessert for us to share, since I insisted I couldn't eat another bite, he thought this was a compromise.  
  
Hilary was still standing at the podium when we were getting ready to leave. She asked how our meal was and we agreed that it was wonderful. I turned to Mulder who smiled at me and put an arm around my back. I felt a tiny chill run up my spine, wondering if I would get a goodnight kiss. Hilary smiled at us and told us again, to have a nice evening.  
  
When we got to the door of my apartment Mulder's hand was wrapped around mine. He let go so I could unlock my door and my hand felt cold, feeling the night air in contrast to his warm skin. When I realized that he was not going to kiss me I tried to shrug off my longing for him and act like the friend that I was. "Do you want to come in and watch "Friends" with me?" I asked.  
  
"Sure," he agreed and followed me in.  
  
"Make yourself comfortable," I suggested, "I'm going to go change out of this dress." When I reentered the room he had taken off his shoes and was sitting on my couch watching TV. Wearing my light green silky pajamas, I sat down next to him. We waited just a few minutes before "Friends" came on. I knew that Mulder wasn't a huge fan of the show, but he put up with it.  
  
"Do you think that we could do it?" he asked. I looked at him with confusion, trying to figure out just what he was referring to. "I mean, do you think that if we were together, we could make it last?" I didn't know quite what to say, so I waited for him to continue. "And if it didn't could we still be friends, you know? Could we be Ross and Rachel?"  
  
I sat quietly for a while, searching for the right response. "Mulder, you never know if love will last forever, but sometimes for love you have to risk it all, and maybe it wouldn't work out between us, but it could, and as much as I value our friendship, I would risk it all to have just a while as the one that you love." He beamed at me and gently set his hands on my cheeks, pulling me towards him. Then we kissed. It was a gentle kiss, tender and expressive of the love that we felt for one another. It was so much less than we had exchanged the night before, yet it was so much more than lust could ever express.  
  
"You have been the one that I love for the longest time, and every day I have hoped that I would hear you say that someday."  
  
"I love you Mulder," I said softly. He gave me one more, small, soft kiss then we drifted apart and I leaned into his chest with my head, stretching my body out on the couch. His hand fell into my hair and he gently brushed his fingers through it as we sat there together watching TV. I was exhausted from the previous night and my stressful day waiting for all this. I fell asleep laying there on the couch snuggled into Mulder. I was barely conscious when ER ended and he carried me into my room.  
  
I forced my eyes open as he set me down in my bed and pulled the sheets up to my chin. "Don't leave," I requested sleepily and softly. I saw him smile at me before he set a tender kiss on my fore head. I sighed and gazed up at him with longing eyes. He walked around to the other side of the bed and lay down, granting me my wish. I rolled into his body and took a deep breath of his scent. He still wore his collared shirt and slacks. I kissed his cheek lightly and whispered, "Wearing all this to bed?" I played with his collar. Understanding, he got up and took off his pants and shirt then got in under the covers in his boxers and t-shirt. "Much better," I said quietly and nestled back into him. "Goodnight Mulder, I love you."  
  
"I love you too Scully," he said as he wrapped his arms around my back. My body felt tiny next to his, but it didn't bother me, it made me feel safe. Tired, I drifted back to sleep comfortably in his embrace.  
  
The next morning I woke up feeling like I could take on the world. Luckily, neither of us had to work until the afternoon so we didn't have to rush out of the warm cocoon we had made for ourselves in each other's arms. When we finally did roll out of bed we walked up to the kitchen and I made us a simple breakfast. "I love waking up with you," I said over a cup of coffee.  
  
"I love you," he said in response. I beamed and leaned over to give him a kiss. He caught me and turned his head quickly to let my lips find his rather than his cheek as I had intended. I blushed slightly and he smiled for me.  
  
I went into work at two, after an hour alone since Mulder had to work at one. "I may have a sudden craving for ice cream after work," he told me before he left.  
  
"Well, I've got plenty of that," I said, hoping that he would come visit me at work.  
  
Julie was already working when I got there. "So, how was dinner?" she asked curiously, most likely reading the smitten grin on my face.  
  
I gave her a huge smile and said giddily, "When we got home we were talking on the couch and he loves me! He told me. I can't believe it!" I said it all without taking a breath.  
  
"I'm so happy for you Dana," she said. "You're lucky to have a man who loves you."  
  
"I know I am. I've waited so long for this, I just can't believe that we're together." I spent the rest of the day acting like a girl with her first boyfriend. I kept telling Julie about all the sweet things that Mulder did for me. She put up with it all afternoon. I wasn't used to this side of Mulder and never expected him to act like this when we were together, but then again, he probably never expected me to act as twitterpated.  
  
"You haven't had a boyfriend in a while have you?" Julie finally asked. I blushed and shook my head.  
  
At seven, when Mulder got off work, he came by the shop to visit me, just as he had said he would. When I saw him walking towards the door I quickly fixed my hair, happy that there weren't any customers for me to be tending to. Julie, who was getting another tub of ice cream out of the storage freezer, walked out and announced that she was leaving since her shift was over. "You remember how to close?" she asked as she took off her apron, not realizing that I was too busy watching Mulder stroll up the walkway to really pay her too much attention.  
  
"Mmm, hmmm. I got it. " I said, distracted. When the bells on the door rang she looked over and saw him walk in. He said hello politely then came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek over the counter. "How was work?" I asked.  
  
"It was okay, how's it going here?"  
  
"Good" I sighed.  
  
"Well, I'm gonna take off, I've done my time." Julie smiled.  
  
""Bye Julie," I called breaking my gaze from my handsome partner.  
  
"Bye."  
  
Then we were alone, just Mulder and I in the shop. "Do you want some ice cream, or frozen yogurt, or anything else?"  
  
"I'd love some ice cream."  
  
"What flavor?" I asked getting out a cup from behind the counter.  
  
"What do you recommend?"  
  
"Well, do you like chocolate or vanilla?" I asked, secretly felling bad that I didn't know his favorite flavor.  
  
"I don't have a favorite," he said, "I'll have scoop of your favorite."  
  
I got into the big freezer and filled the cup with chocolate ice cream that had Oreos in it. "This is the best I've tried so far." I explained. I gave him the cup and he ate a spoonful.  
  
"That's good, but if I recall you don't eat real ice cream. This certainly isn't non-fat tofutti dreamscicle."  
  
"Well, when you sell it all day it's hard not to eat some. Who can resist free ice cream?"  
  
"Why do you think I came to visit you?" he chuckled.  
  
I faked a gasp. "You jerk!" I hit him teasingly.  
  
"Just wait until we get back to DC and start going through ice cream withdrawals." I laughed at the thought. "I'm not kidding. I knew a girl in high school that worked with ice cream and when she went a day without it she went crazy."  
  
I looked at him with a face that would remind him that he was nuts, but I could see how it would be hard to give up free ice cream. "Who knows what may have to replace it when we got home." I raised my eyebrow suggestively.  
  
"Well, I'll keep my freezer stocked," he said with a grin.  
  
"I'll keep that in mind."  
  
"So, it's Friday night, what do you want to do?" he asked.  
  
"I don't get off until ten," I whined. "I don't get to do anything. I'm stuck here all night. I guess eight hour shifts on Friday nights are my punishment for being the only old lay that works here."  
  
"You are not an old lady, Scully. Just because you aren't a college student doesn't mean you're an old lady. I have deck of card in my car, we can play until a customer comes in," he suggested, trying to make me feel better about having to work all evening.  
  
"I don't think my boss would like it much, but she doesn't have to know." I agreed, honestly not wanting him to leave. Although he was the same man that he'd been a week before, and we weren't acting much differently than we would have been acting then, just knowing that we were finally together made me wish we never had spend another minute apart.  
  
He went out to his car and got the cards quickly then came back and we sat down at one of the little tables. "So, what do you want to play?" I asked.  
  
"How about strip poker?" he suggested. I popped up an eyebrow and let him see a familiar expression, one that he knew meant his suggestion was not going to fly. "Fine, no strip poker," he sighed. "How about Gin?" That one I agreed to. We played three games before I had to get up and dish ice cream for a customer. They seemed to come in a wave and ten minutes later the place was empty again.  
  
Around eight fifteen, Hilary, our hostess from the previous night came in. I hopped up from the game, which had turned into a round of crazy eights, to serve her. "Were you in the Madonna Inn last night?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," I smiled.  
  
"What a coincidence. I used to work here. My roommate still does. Do you know Amber?"  
  
"I just worked with her yesterday," I said with enthusiasm.  
  
Her mouth fell open a little, "You're Dana? The professor who got the roses?"  
  
"That's me," I said, looking over at Mulder who was watching our conversation.  
  
"Well, if you plan of quitting when school starts let me warn you, you'll be going through withdrawals without the ice cream and coffee. Luckily I can still mooch off Amber, but I still come in here all the time." Mulder looked over at me with a face that said, "I told you so." With my best "shut up" face having been cast I looked back to Hilary.  
  
"Yeah, so I've heard." I smiled. 'This is my friend Fox, by the way, he came to entertain me for a while."  
  
"Hi," she said in his direction. "This place is pretty dead on summer nights. Only crazy frozen yogurt addicts who are stuck in summer school and can't go home come in. At least it's not hectic though."  
  
"Yeah, we've been playing cards for about an hour with only a couple of customers.  
  
"Well," she said after she had paid for her vanilla frozen yogurt, "I'll let you get back to your game. Nice to meet you, I'm sure I'll see you around.  
  
"Nice to meet you too," I called as she headed for the door.  
  
Twenty minutes later we were beginning to think she would be our last customer. That was when an entire women's' softball team and their families walked in, rowdy after winning a game. Mulder, knowing he would be in the way, gave me a kiss on the cheek in between orders and whispered, "I'll see you at home." The team stayed in the sop for nearly an hour, and when they left I scurried to close. I wanted to get home.  
  
As if he'd been waiting by the window Mulder came out of his condo to greet me when I arrived. I was exhausted, as happy as I was to see him I couldn't wait to take off my shoes and put on my pajamas. I unlocked the door after receiving a hello kiss from him. He held my waist as we walked in. Once inside with the door shut, before I even turned on a light I spun around and gave him a passionate kiss. "What was that for?" he asked when I pulled away.  
  
"For being such a great guy," I answered. He smiled and leaned in for another kiss.  
  
"For being such a great girlfriend," he said before I even had a chance to speak. I beamed through the dark at the thought of being his girlfriend. Although I'd thought about him as a boyfriend, I didn't think that he would so readily admit to having a girlfriend.  
  
"I hate to spoil the part, but I'm about ready for bed." I said softly, breaking from him to walk towards the bedroom.  
  
"I don't think that will spoil the party at all,' he grinned. I turned on the lamp next to the bed, casting soft light across the room.  
  
"Go get ready for be Mulder." I rolled my eyes and pushed him out of the room. He left obediently and went into the bathroom. I put on my pajamas and opened the door to signal to him that I was done; then I crawled into bed and pulled the covers over me, snuggling into them. Moments later Mulder was crawling in bed next to me. I hadn't realized that this was going to become a nightly thing, but it didn't bother me. I couldn't say that I didn't enjoy galling asleep wrapped in a man's arms again, something I hadn't done in years.  
  
The following Thursday, Mulder and I were discussing the case, realizing that having been so wrapped up in each other we hadn't given much thought to it. Three college girls, over the course of two weeks, had disappeared from The Grad while out dancing with their friends. We had names and a file on each girl and neither of us could seem to find any connection. Each of the three girls had told their friends they'd be right back, and hadn't been seen since. When we discussed the case I expected to hear another one of Mulder's ridiculous theories, but he didn't have one. He had nothing extraterrestrial to connect it to, no government conspiracy to blame it on.  
  
That night we went out to The Graduate for a little bit of sober research, a concept we had somehow forgotten in our previous trip. Neither of us knew, before we got there, the theme of the evening. Thursdays were country dancing nights at The Grad. Despite our lack of knowledge in dancing I insisted that we at least try some of the line dances, and somehow got Mulder out onto the floor for a few dances with me. Not only did he catch onto the line dances quickly, he knew how to lead a few partner dances. "Have you ever considered taking dance classes?" I asked him. "You're a really good lead."  
  
"I had a girlfriend sign me up for some classes in college, but I haven't thought of it since. Why? Do you want to take one?"  
  
"No," I said, "I don't think even a great teacher could teach me to dance. I'm a lost cause, but you are a natural at this."  
  
"I think you're a good dancer. You're doing better than that old girlfriend of mine did, and she was taking classes," he said. "I'll tell you what, I'll take a dance class if you take it with me."  
  
"I don't think so," I said, "besides, we don't know how long we'll be here. This could fall into place in a couple of days."  
  
"We don't need to take it here, we can wait until we get home. I think it would be fun. Dancing is a good skill to have; it makes you look cultured. Imagine what people would say at the Christmas party."  
  
"I'm not so sure people will see us as cultured even if we can dance. They call us Mr. And Mrs. Spooky." I laughed.  
  
"Okay, bad example, but don't you want to be able to dance at your wedding?"  
  
I didn't know how to respond to that. I didn't know exactly what he was saying. I wanted to think he was talking about OUR wedding, not my wedding. Up until about a week before I didn't think I would ever have a wedding. He was still looking at me, waiting for a happy-go-lucky response in this conversation that he still considered small talk. "I guess it would be nice to know," I said, trying to sound like I wasn't deep in thought.  
  
He smiled and kissed my cheek. "When we get home I'll find us a teacher." I rolled my eyes at him.  
  
We didn't learn much about the case that evening, but we had fun. That night when we got home I had a message from Skinner on my machine. "Agent Scully, this is AD Skinner. We have an update on the case. One of the missing girls showed up. She wasn't abducted like I'm sure Mulder had expected, she ran off with her secret boyfriend and got married. I'd like you and Agent Mulder to stay out there and investigate the other two." His tone sounded slightly annoyed with my absence. Mulder was standing next to me as I listened to the message.  
  
I had a feeling when I heard the message that we weren't going to be there much longer. I don't know why, but to me it sounded like, with only two missing girls, and no case development to far, we would be back in DC all too soon. That disappointed me. I knew that once we were back to working all day and living at our real houses, reminded every day of FBI policy on intra-bureau dating, our perfect haven of romance would be torn down and we would end up just partners who were uncomfortable around each other. So, I made a decision.  
  
When Mulder disappeared into the bathroom to get ready for bed I changed into a little silky nighty that had been sitting in my drawer at home for years, but had never been worn. It was forest green. It was low cut enough to show off the little cleavage that I have, and hit high enough on my thigh to make my short legs appear a little longer. The look on Mulder's face when he walked into the room to see me standing there in it made the nighty worth every penny I'd paid for it. I walked up to him and kissed him seductively on his soft lips.  
  
My head was resting on his bare chest when I woke up in the morning. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the silky green fabric on the floor next to the bed. "Good morning sweetheart," Mulder said softly.  
  
"Morning," I sighed into his chest with pleasure. He ran his fingers through my hair. I kissed the soft skin beneath my head and laid it back down.  
  
"I love you," he said. Then he unwound his fingers from my hair and reached to grab my hand, which was sprawled over him.  
  
"I love you too," I responded. He placed a tender kiss in the middle of my palm. I felt my body warm with his touch. He set my hand back down on his chest and I ran it slowly up and down his skin.  
  
"Did you ever think that we would make it here?" he asked. "I mean, before last week, did you ever think that someday we would wake up content in each others arms.  
  
"I never thought we would, but I always hoped we would."  
  
Two days later we got another call from Skinner, one that we were home to answer, saying that another girl had been found. She'd gone to the bar, found a group of boys on a road trip and was invited to go along. Unfortunately, she'd neglected to tell anyone she was going. She was dropped off in front of her apartment giggling late one afternoon.  
  
Monday morning Skinner called for the third time. It was eight am in DC, and in San Luis Obispo we were asleep because it was three o'clock in the morning. Skinner had apparently forgotten about the time difference when he called. "Hello," I answered groggily.  
  
"Agent Scully? What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
I looked at the clock, "It's three in the morning; I was asleep."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot about the time difference." He said apologetically.  
  
The commotion had woken Mulder as well and he went to work kissing my neck softly. "Tell whoever it is to go back to bed and let us sleep."  
  
"Agent Scully, who was that?"  
  
"Uh, umm..." I stuttered for a moment, trying to silently gesture for Mulder to be quiet and go back to sleep. "What can I do for you sir?"  
  
He chuckled a little, letting me off the hook. "I was just calling to let you know that it's time to come home. The third girl came back. She was trying to scare her parents by taking off because she thought they were too strict. There's no case left to solve. Please let Mulder know and you can book your flights back. The moving truck will be there by tomorrow afternoon for all of the stuff that they brought. I'll let you get back to sleep. Tell your companion I apologize for waking you both."  
  
"Thank you sir. I'll tell him." Then we both hung up. "Shit," I whispered. Having heard me say 'sir' as many times as I had Mulder had backed off and buried his face in his hands.  
  
"Did I just tell you to hang up on Skinner?" he asked, worried. I nodded. "Damn it, why did he call at three am?"  
  
"He forgot about the time difference." I explained. "He was calling to let us know that it's time to go home."  
  
"What? But what about the case?"  
  
"There is no case. The third girl is home safely after running away to try to scare her parents. We are supposed to catch a plane home soon." I felt my heart begin to break, realizing that I wouldn't be waking up here in Mulder's arms forever.  
  
By the following Morning we were sitting on an airplane waiting to take off in LA. We both had to give last minutes notice to our bosses and friends that we were quitting and leaving town, and get all of our things packed up. As we sat there on the plane I laid my head on Mulder's shoulder. He pet my head and played with my hair. I felt tears well up in my eyes as I breathed his scent. "I don't want to leave," I whispered, my voice cracking.  
  
"Why not honey?" he asked sweetly. "We can be together for real, it can be real life, not pretending to be someone else."  
  
"But, now we have to go back to real life. We can't be in love; it's not allowed. We'd be risking the x-files, all our work."  
  
"Sometimes for love you have to risk it all," he quoted. "Nothing is as important to me as your love, nothing." I leaned up and kissed his lips gently then laid my head back down on him, not knowing what to say.  
  
After the flight he drove me home and stayed in my apartment. We ordered Chinese, since it was almost eight by the time we got back. After dinner we stayed up late, still on pacific time, and played Monopoly, one of the few board games I own. He didn't bother go home, and my bed had a guest for the first time in years.  
  
In the morning he offered to drive me to work and I couldn't turn him down, knowing that we would end up at one of our homes together that night as well. I hadn't expected him to still be affectionate at the office, but he held my hand as we walked in and, once in the privacy of our office, ventured a kiss. The day was relatively uneventful and filled with typical paper work we had to complete after being out of town on a case.  
  
Somehow we managed to keep our romance alive over the weeks that followed our return, and no one at work had the guts to ask us what was going on between us, they'd expected it for years anyway. We had, of course, told my mom, and had been out to dinner with her since San Luis. She was happy for us and seemed very pleased that I had found a boyfriend. I still worried that soon someone at work would rat us out and we would lose our relationship. I tried to hide this fear from Mulder, not wanting him to give up the job that he loved for us. He could tell that it bothered me despite my efforts. He was constantly assuring me that it would all be alright and that nothing could keep us apart.  
  
Holding up his promise to take dance classes, we started beginning ballroom dance lessons on Tuesday nights. It was fun for us to have a chance to be publicly together. At class he could call me pet names and kiss me in front of other people, something that we didn't really have a chance to do at work. Though it was only once a week, it was a step towards the normalcy that I so badly desired.  
  
On Labor Day weekend he surprised me with a plane ticket to LA. He drove us to the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, took me to one of the famous themed suites, and asked me to get ready for dinner. A few hours later he was assuring another reservation with Hilary, our friend the hostess. She found us a very nice table and talked to us for a while. "Are you celebrating anything this evening?" she asked routinely. It was one of the questions she asked everyone she seated under the orders of Mr. Madonna, but her face seemed a little more spirited that it should have.  
  
"No," I answered, "Fox is just a sweet man and surprised me with this trip." Of course this only piqued her curiosity and she began to ask about our sudden departure. Mulder told her that it was a long, confusing, story and she politely dropped the subject.  
  
After dinner, when we had ordered dessert, Mulder found a serious tone and he tried his hardest not to hide a big grin as he spoke. "I love you Dana, and I don't want you to doubt for a second that I will love you forever. I know exactly what I want, and for the first time I have it all. I never want to lose you." I felt tears gathering in my eyes and I couldn't suppress them. I stopped breathing as I say him reach into his coat pocket and get down on one knee beside the table. He opened the box as he spoke. "Dana, will you marry me?" It was a modest diamond set on a gold band, exactly like I'd always imagined it. He took my hands in his free hand and looked up at me hopefully.  
  
Tears streaming down my face I nodded my head and tried as hard as I could to force my misbehaving voice to speak. "Yes," was all that came out, but that was all he needed. His face lit up and he slid the band on my finger. As we left the restaurant Hilary congratulated us. I asked her to say hello to everyone at Froggies for me, and knew that by the next day everyone would have heard that the guy who brought me flowers had purposed.  
  
Back in the hotel room I laughed as Mulder pulled out a bottle of tequila, a saltshaker, and a lime out of his bag.  
  
And when we went to bed I didn't worry for a moment that I wouldn't have him by my side forever. 


End file.
